E32: Populism, Elites, and Preparing for AGI

"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss populist cycles, why billionaires buy media companies, how to invest if you think AGI is coming soon, and more. beehiiv: Head to https://beehiiv.com and use code "MOZ" for 20% off your first three months.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:21) Populists vs technocrats

(07:37) Role of media and influence

(14:02) View on counter elites

(15:41) Sponsor: Babbel | Beehiiv

(18:51) Israel on PR war

(22:59) On Big Tech Has No Power At All by Curtis Yarvin

(26:42) Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

(30:14) Comparing media ownership: Bezos vs. Musk

(38:42) Leopold Aschenbrenner’s situational awareness paper

(44:26) Investing strategies in the age of AGI

(46:38) Role of Venture Capital

(50:05) High frequency trading explained

(53:42) Prediction markets and information transmission

(54:26) Wrap

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LINKS:

Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co

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X / TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg (Erik)

https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

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